Editor’s Letter

OctoberTour is upon us

When I was a little girl, I was obsessed with books. Still am today.

I checked out the book “Rosebud” so many times from the China Grove Library that when it closed, Mother actually bought the book for me.

Author Ed Emberley is best known for his books which teach children how to draw. One of those was an ABC book.

Why am I telling you this?

Because if Emberley were to make a Salisbury-style ABC book, “O” would definitely be for OctoberTour.

The homes! The mums! The Patrons Party! The Porch Party! Basically, a great weekend for a party.

The 47th annual event takes place Oct. 8-9 in Downtown Salisbury. There are eight properties in all: five homes, one hotel, one church, and one business building. What a cool variety! Maggie Blackwell writes about this year’s featured home, the William Murdoch House, whose longtime owners have been Franchot and Carol Palmer.

If you get a chance, be sure and introduce yourself to Kimberly Stieg, executive director of Historic Salisbury Foundation — the tour’s sponsor — since Jan. 31. She absolutely adores living in Downtown Salisbury with her husband, Scott, and their miniature schnauzer, Mr. Magoo.

Ben Stansell, a former Salisbury Post reporter, left us with a parting gift: a story about Jake Murdoch, who’s done extensive metal detecting work at the Hall House. Incidentally, the house is observing its 200th anniversary (after a two-year pandemic delay).

Margaret Basinger is back this month with a review of “One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot.” It’s the story of an unlikely friendship, and I can’t wait to check it out from the library. Yay! No wait list!

Ben White switches gears from his usual NASCAR writing (see what I did there?) to bring us a feature on Dr. Mitch Siegel, this month’s

Rowan Original. You’d be hard pressed to find someone more original than the good dentist. Incidentally, he’s the only person I know who calls my son “Rew.” He and Andrew were seat buddies and great friends in the St. John’s Men’s Chorus. Additionally, Maggie has a feature this month on David Whisenant, longtime WBTV Salisbury bureau reporter. David is a devout Christian, and applies that lens to everything he does, whether it be work, family, or teaching Sunday school. Find out how David leans into his faith when reporting on the toughest stories. Over the years, you may have seen a modest ad for “Grandfather Clock Repair” in the Post. Meet the duo behind the business — Grant Wood, and his grandfather, Grant Clark. It’s a joy for them to work together. Finally, Mark Wineka, former editor for Salisbury the Magazine, traveled recently to Africa. You read that right. He went to accompany Charles Newsome, who’s spent the last 30 years making a difference for the people of Zambia. With Mark’s help, Newsome plans to publish a book this fall about his mission work in Mwandi. So whether you’re in Salisbury or a world away, I hope you’ll enjoy this latest issue of Salisbury the Magazine. (And don’t forget to pack a book, too!) Happy Reading, and we’ll see you next month. P.S. — A fun fact I discovered while researching Ed Emberley is that he and my mother are the same age. If you want to know, you’ll have to look it up. You know how women are about telling their age. Nah, just kidding. They’re both 91. Kimberly and Scott Stieg with miniature schnauzer, Mr. Magoo. Kimberly is — Susan Shinn Turner the executive director of Historic Salisbury Foundation. Editor, Salisbury the Magazine